The House of Dunkeld

The House of Dunkeld or the House of Canmore followed the
House of Alpin and ruled Scotland from 1058 to
1290. The first King of the House of Dunkeld was Malcolm III Canmore, who was determined to change
the system of succession to one of primogeniture: succession to the eldest son.

This was not without its opponents, notably - and for
understandable reasons - Malcolm's own brother, Donald, who twice stepped in to rule Scotland
following Malcolm's death.

But setting Donald aside, the throne passed relatively peacefully
from Malcolm to five of his sons. It then skipped a generation to
Malcolm IV, before transferring to Malcolm's
younger brother William the Lion, then to William's
son, and to his grandson, Alexander III.

Alexander III's reign threw up the
downside of primogeniture. Succession which depended on a single family line
could be extremely fragile. Alexander was predeceased by his three children,
which meant that his only successor was his granddaughter, the three-year old
Margaret, Maid of Norway. Had she lived to go
through with her betrothal to the future Edward II of England, the crowns of
Scotland and England would have been united three centuries earlier than they
finally were, in 1603.

Margaret's death in
Orkney meant that history was very
different. It brought to an end the rule of the House of Dunkeld. It also paved
the way for two years of chaos, with 13 claimants for the Scottish throne being
decided among by Edward I of England. The Wars of Independence from England
were just around the corner...